Area residents question intervention in Syria

Anti-war protesters hold signs and wave to passing vehicles while at Lincoln Square in Worcester.

The day before the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that led to war in Afghanistan, and later, Iraq, Central Massachusetts residents are again considering the possibility of this country going to war, and many are not happy about it.

For the past few weeks, the nation's leaders have been debating whether we will go to war with Syria, how we might go to war, or what can be done to avoid intervening in the Syrian civil war. As that debate continues to unfold, many in Central Massachusetts are questioning the logic of intervening in the Middle East.

"I don't think we should interfere with the rest of the world," said Chris Dunkers of Pennsylvania, an undergraduate robotics major at WPI. "We're not their parents. We should not be spending our resources babysitting them."

The president is seeking support from Congress to launch airstrikes against the Syrian government and army in the wake of what is believed to have been a sarin gas attack in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus, Syria, that reportedly killed as many as 1,400 people.

On Sept. 4, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to allow the president to use limited force in Syria, but any vote by the Senate has been delayed after Russia offered a compromise which would place Syria's chemical weapons under United Nations control. Syria has not agreed to any compromise.

Others at WPI were of the same opinion as Mr. Dunkers.

Anastasios Gavras of Greece, a post-doctoral fellow with the college's Integrative Materials Design Center, said he believes attacking Syria would create major problems in the Middle East.

"It might start a world war," he said.

Mr. Gavras said he is unsure if there is good evidence of the chemical attacks and does not believe an attack on Syria will be good for the American economy.

Annie Zhao, a Chinese student in the WPI business school, said she is just beginning to learn about the plan to go to war in Syria but is against it.

"It is stupid to go to war in the first place," she said.

Ms. Zhao said she also wonders if the talk of war with Syria is just an effort by President Obama to divert attention from some other issue.

Edward Marion of Gardner, who served with the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1972, said he is not happy with the idea of military action and is not happy that the president may have been considering going to war without a vote from Congress.

"The Syrians should take care of their own problem," he said.

Dr. John Trudel of the Reliant Medical Group took a different view.

"Anyone who uses chemical weapons should be bombed," he said.

Dr. Trudel said he is familiar with chemical weapons from work in the Navy. He acknowledged that there is distrust among the public after President George W. Bush took the nation to war in Iraq over the reported presence of weapons of mass destruction, when no such weapons were found, but he said in this case, he feels we should trust the government.

Lisa Jordan, a health care worker from New Hampshire who was in Worcester Tuesday, said she opposes intervention.

"What's the point?" she asked.

Ms. Jordan said she believes in helping people who need protection, but this situation will only lead to problems.

"People in Syria will hate us because we will kill more of them than the government," she said.

Vicky Howley of Lunenburg said she is afraid of the possibility of war. It is not this country's problem, she said.

"We should mind our business at this time," she said.

Patricia Clark of Gardner, who was talking with Ms. Howley at Watertower Plaza in Leominster Tuesday morning, said this country should focus on helping its own people and not get involved in another country's civil war.

"It's not our business," she said.

Reflecting on the coincidence of the president speaking about Syria on the Sept. 11 anniversary, Ms. Clark said the situation was different, but the impact could be the same on families in America.

"When my grandson was in Afghanistan, I worried every day that he was over that he might be killed," she said.

Christine Sweatland said she and co-workers at the T.J. Maxx clothing store in Leominster were discussing the Syria issue Tuesday morning and she said she does not like the idea of military intervention.

"We need to focus over here," she said. "There are so many children here without families that need to be cared for."

Judy Buddington of Royalston said the poison gas attacks are reason why President Obama feels we should go to war, but she wonders why we did not see the thousands of other deaths in the Civil War equally important. She said she is opposed to intervention and worries what will happen to innocent people in Syria.

"It seems like every time we invade a country, so many innocent people get killed," she said.

The ongoing debate about whether the U.S. should involve itself in yet another Middle East country will be the subject of a panel discussion tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. at Clark University in the Higgins Lounge at Dana Commons.

Panelists include Ora Szekely, assistant professor of political science; Taner Akcam, professor of history and Armenian studies; Anita Häusermann Fábos, associate professor of international development and social change; Douglas Little, professor of history and Srini Sitaraman, associate professor of political science.

To mark the Sept. 11 anniversary, Fitchburg Mayor Lisa A. Wong said she is asking municipal employees to hold a moment of silence today at 9:59 a.m., the time when the World Trade Center south tower collapsed, and at 10:28 a.m., the time the north tower fell. The flag will be brought into the main lobby of the Fitchburg Municipal Office Building at 166 Boulder Drive.

Also, the Fitchburg Fire Department will hold a ceremony at its headquarters on North Street, beginning at 9:55 a.m. today.

Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG